LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Friday, March 13, 1998

OKLAHOMA STATE REGENTS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

From: Bryce Fair & Carolyn McCoy

The following document consists of three sections. Section I provides a brief narrative of legislative highlights and a summary of actions on bills during the week. Section II is an index of the bills we are tracking and Section III provides a short description of each bill and the latest legislative action on the bill. If you need copies of any of the bills, please contact Carolyn McCoy at (405) 225-9165 or e-mail her at "cmccoy@osrhe.edu".

SECTION I

Highlights This Week

Bill Would Create Graduation Incentives for Institutions:

On Tuesday, the Senate passed SB 1000, which would create the "Higher Education Completion Incentive Revolving Fund". The bill calls for any monies in the fund to be allocated to four-year colleges which achieve graduation rates (over a six-year period) of 50% for full-time degree-seeking students. Two-year colleges achieving a 30% graduation rate (over a three-year period) would also be eligible. The bill was approved by a vote of 38-8 and now moves to the House for further consideration.

Faculty Employment Bill Amended and Passed by the Senate: As approved by the full Senate, SB 1372 would require higher education institutions to provide written reasons for the termination of any full-time faculty member, if the written explanation were requested by the faculty member. The earlier version of the bill passed by the Senate Education Committee would have required written reasons for any employment decision affecting a faculty member, not just termination. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 34-14 and has been assigned to the House Education Committee.

OU/OSU Tulsa Bill Advances: SB 1426, which would create a single campus administered by OU and OSU for upper division and graduate courses in Tulsa, was passed by the Senate on a 34-13 vote. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives where it has been assigned to the Appropriations and Budget Committee.

House Approves Early "Sunset" on Teacher Preparation Commission: In its original form, HB 2652 would have placed the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation (OCTP) under the state's Sunset Law and authorized the Commission to exist at least until 2004. However, the bill was amended on the House floor Tuesday to shorten the Commission's "sunset" date to 1999. Entities subject to Oklahoma's Sunset Law are created in statute for a limited period of time, usually six years, and are automatically terminated (or "sunset") unless the Legislature passes a bill to extend their life. The House approved the amended form of the bill by a vote of 98-0. The bill now goes to the Senate Sunset Review Committee.